Al Jazeera: Afghanistan Frees TV Producers Held for 3 Days

Colleagues of two Al-Jazeera television producers say Afghan authorities have released the men after three days of detention in Kabul.

Members of Al-Jazeera's staff in Kabul say Afghanistan's intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security, freed their colleagues on Wednesday.

They say Afghan authorities have not explained the reasons for detaining Qais Azimy and Hameedullah Shah.

The intelligence agency and information ministry have refused requests from journalists for information on the matter.

David Chater, Al-Jazeera's correspondent in Kabul, says on the network's Web site that the detentions may be related to a recently broadcast report that included footage of Azimy meeting with Taliban fighters around the northern town of Kunduz.

The Qatar-based news network reported that the two men had been detained on Sunday after Afghan authorities told them to report to the intelligence headquarters in Kabul.

The network says Azimy traveled to the National Directorate of Security on his own, while Shah was picked up by two intelligence officers from his office in Kabul.

Azimy works as a producer for Al-Jazeera's English channel, and Shah works for its Arabic programs.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists had called for their release.

In other news, the Danish military said Wednesday that three of its soldiers serving in Afghanistan were killed by a roadside bomb in Helmand province. Denmark has about 700 troops serving with NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Bloomberg.